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New veterinary skills centre to open in Aberdeen
The new centre will contain a mock veterinary practice and animal disease diagnostics laboratories.
£850k project will be ready for the start of the 2021-22 academic year.

Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) has announced plans to open a state-of-the-art veterinary clinical skills teaching centre in Aberdeen.

The £850,000 investment will see the creation of a ten-room Veterinary Clinical Skills Centre at SRUC’s Craibstone campus, containing a clinical skills laboratory, mock veterinary practice and animal disease diagnostics laboratories.

Opening in September, it will also be kitted out with 360-degree cameras, video streaming and touchscreen displays to connect the centre to other SRUC campuses and remote learners.

Caroline Argo, dean of SRUC’s North Faculty said: “Our new Veterinary Clinical Skills Centre will offer one of the best experiences for students of veterinary nursing and other animal-related programmes across the country. 

“Rural veterinary practices are vital for farming and rural life and they face challenges when it comes to finding veterinary nurses and support teams. By focussing on the development of talented new professionals for rural practices, our graduates will have the skills, knowledge and opportunities for long, successful and fulfilling careers.” 

More than 100 students will be expected to study at the centre each year. There will also be short courses for veterinary professionals and paraprofessionals at weekends at evenings.

It follows the announcement of new equine facilities for Craibstone, also due for completion in September. 

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Equine Disease Surveillance report released for Q4 2025

News Story 1
 The latest Equine Disease Surveillance report has been released, with details on equine disease from Q4 of 2025.

The report, produced by Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance, includes advice on rule changes for equine influenza vaccination.

Statistics and maps detail recent outbreaks of equine herpes virus, equine influenza, equine strangles and equine grass sickness. A series of laboratory reports provides data on virology, bacteriology, parasitology and toxicosis.

This issue also features a case study of orthoflavivus-associated neurological disease in a horse in the UK. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NSA webinar explores sheep tailing and castration

The National Sheep Association (NSA) is to host a free webinar on the castration and tail docking of lambs.

The webinar, 'Understanding the tailing and castration consultation: A guide for sheep farmers', will be hosted online on Monday, 2 March 2026 at 7.30pm.

It comes during a government consultation into the methods used for these procedures. Farmers are encouraged to engage before the consultation period closes on Monday, 9 March 2026.

The webinar offers clear and actionable guidance to support farmers to contribute meaningfully to the consultation and prepare for potential changes.

On the panel will be former SVS president Kate Hovers, farmer and vet Ann Van Eetvelt and SRUC professor in Animal Health and Veterinary Sciences Cathy Dwyer. Each panel member will utilise their own specialism and expertise to evaluate risks and outcomes to sheep farming.

Find out more about the webinar on the NSA website.